Would-be Stockholm residents now have longer to wait for an available apartment than ever before, with new statistics showing an average waiting time on the region's housing queue of eight years.
Last year, 400,000 people were signed up and waiting for an apartment in the nation's capital, 9 percent more than in 2011 and roughly double the figure from 2006.
The average wait for a house in the region also shot up to 8.5 years - or 15 years for those who prefer to live centrally. The central island Kungsholmen has an average waiting time of 17 years.
These statistics come fresh from Stockholm's municipal housing queue, run byStockholms Stads Bostadsförmedling AB.
Maria Nordlöf of Bostadsförmedling explained that the city's housing scheme is a whole different game from 10 to 20 years ago when it was possible to find a home in the centre of Stockholm.
"If you're looking for a rental apartment, you should consider the entire Stockholm region," she told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper (SvD).
Further outside the centre of the Stockholm region, in areas such as Huddinge, Upplands Väsby, Järfälla or Botkyrka, the average waiting time dropped to six years.
But living outside of the city is no solution, according to Lina Glans, CEO of the Jagvillhabostad.nu ("I need a house now") website and lobbyist for increased housing in the nation's capital.
"The situation is extremely frustrating and affects a whole generation," she told the paper.
She stated that many people can't begin a real life as an adult until they have a stable housing situation in the same area as their work.
"That young people can't live where all the work is will affect Sweden's future development and growth."
Despite the extensive waiting times and long list of housing hopefuls, only 1,700 new homes were built in Stockholm last year.
TT/The Local/og
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